The control tower rises above the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay. The structure is said to be about 50 yearsold. - File

Susan Gordon, Business Reporter

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is to invest half a billion dollars over the next financial year in the construction of a control tower at the Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, which will replace the current structure said to be over 50 years old.

"A contract is about to be signed," information manager for the authority, Jennifer McDonald, told Wednesday Business, but the agency refused additional comment.

The Finance Ministry, in its Public Bodies Report tabled in Parliament has reported that the project will cost $502 million, which is five times the $100 million initially estimated a year ago to build out the tower.

Larger of Jamaica's two airports

Sangster is the larger of Jamaica's two international airports. It is currently managed under concession by MBJ Airport Limited, a Spanish/Canadian consortium, which took over its operation in 2004.

The airport, which is being developed and expanded by MBJ Airport, is expected to see as much as nine million passengers using the gateway at the end of construction in 2008, which implies an increase in the number of flights and a more crowded air space to monitor.

It's unclear whether those developments are influencing the current tower project.

The CAA was unable to meet its deadline for the project last year, because of "procedural delays," the Finance Ministry reported.

susan.gordon@gleanerjm.com